Phoenix Ascendant - eARC (32 page)

Chapter 50

“I’m so terribly sorry, Watchl—”

“You need to get out of the apology habit, Kyri,” Jeridan said, looking up from his place at the smaller table in the Vantage private chambers. “No one here will demand you keep to a schedule, and I assure you that I have been far from bored talking with Light Miri and Hiriista.”

Kyri opened her mouth, realized that she was about to apologize for apologizing, and then—for the second time in about ten minutes—found herself laughing so hard her sides hurt. Tobimar put an arm around her, grinning broadly. Poplock bounced down, landed on the table, and started rooting around in the various snacks.

Finally she recovered, and took her seat next to the Watchland. “What have you all been talking about?”

“Mostly about Kaizatenzei,” Miri said. “You told him the story of your adventures, of course, but the Watchland has a greater interest in our country as such, so he’s been, well,
interrogating
me on everything about it—purely in a friendly manner, of course,” she put in hastily, “but…you know, sir, you’re forcing me to actually realize that I wasn’t paying as much attention to the country as I thought.” She tilted her head. “I suspect that Lady Shae could answer your questions better.”

“Most certainly,” Hiriista said. “Lady Shae administered the country, while you were more her troubleshooter—even if, as we later discovered, you were technically the mastermind.”

“Well, she
thought
she was the mastermind,” Poplock said, nibbling on something. “But Master Wieran was running that show by the end, and of course the big V was the top of the scheming pyramid.”

The Watchland glanced around. “Where are Hittuma and Aran?”

“On a personal mission,” Kyri answered, and explained briefly. “That was one of the things that delayed me.”

“That and seeing off the rest of the few hundred guests, yes,” the Watchland said. “It is well. And I will certainly give them Thornfalcon’s Raiment to take with them. That was an excellent suggestion on Aran’s part. What do you think the Spiritsmith will do?”

Kyri thought back to her interactions with the Spiritsmith, the many conversations she’d had with him, and what had happened afterwards. “Honestly? I think he’s going to probably dismantle them completely and forge new Raiments as new Justiciars are selected. The old Justiciar’s
names
are tainted, too.”

Tobimar nodded thoughtfully. “I hadn’t thought about that, but you’re right. A new Myrionar, a rebuilt Retreat, makes sense to have new Justiciars.”

“You have anyone in mind?” Poplock asked.

“You volunteering?” Kyri asked with a grin.

“Oh, no no no no! Not me. Definitely not my kind of thing. Now maybe
Miri
over there…”

Miri blushed a lovely shade of rose, something Kyri had to admit she somewhat envied; that light skin color was so rare, and Miri carred it well. “I…no, I really can’t, at least, not now. Still so much to do in Kaizatenzei—I’m going to have to go back soon, now that we know you’re not in danger anymore.”

“I wouldn’t say that,” Jeridan said gravely. “The great war may be over, in the sense that the coordinated attacks have ended, and the Black City banished. But unless I greatly miss my guess, it will be a long time before peace as we knew it before returns to Zarathan as a whole.”

The truth of his words fell over Kyri like a sodden blanket.
Dalthunia’s still held by…whatever took it over under Kerlamion and Virigar’s plan. I haven’t any idea how badly the Army of the Dragon, or the forces of the Archmage, suffered in their siege of the Black City, but they couldn’t have escaped unscathed. No one knows what happened in Aegeia yet. Artania’s going to be rebuilding for years.

Then she forced herself to sit up a little straighter and banished that dark line of thought. “You’re probably right, Watchland—but then that just makes Miri’s presence even better. It’s time we
cleaned out
Rivendream Pass. It’s time that it become Heavenbridge Way again, as it was before the last Chaoswar severed our connections.”

“Now that we know that Justice and Vengeance are just the other side of our mountains, yes!” Miri said. She frowned suddenly. “But with the Sun and Stars all gone…”

“I know,” Kyri said. “But all the good that is there isn’t going to vanish overnight, and—if I’m right—a lot of the corruption in the surrounding forest came from Sanamaveridion, yes?”

“Almost certainly,” Hiriista said. “Now that there are no longer secrets being kept from me, I was able to delve into the surviving archives, including some of the materials that Poplock salvaged during our evacuation of Wieran’s laboratory and kindly gave to me to study. The power of the Stars and Sun effectively sealed Sanamaveridion’s power and influence away, forcing them underground and water to, in effect, flow back to the surface outside of the established barrier. Thus the corrupt forest and the Pass of Shadows, what you call Rivendream.

“But Sanamaveridion has, himself, been removed. There is no longer an active force of great evil sealed beneath Enneisolaten. The combination
should
mean that if we remain strong and true to the principles of the Light, we should be able to maintain Kaizatenzei much as it is, at least for some decades.”

“But we do need allies. And so do you,” Miri said, smiling at the Watchland. “I’m so
happy
to find out that you’re actually on our side! I’d been
sure
, from what we’d learned, that at
best
we’d be coming to a country without a ruler.”

“It could easily have been exactly that. Or worse,” Jeridan replied. “And I agree that I much prefer it this way, especially as it gives me the opportunity to open relations with such a wondrous land. I must travel there myself, meet with your Lady Shae. In fact, I would say I should do so very soon.”

Thinking about the situation in Kaizatenzei reminded Kyri of something she had been worried about. “Miri, I hate to bring this up—but you and Shae have basically betrayed everything that Kerlamion represents. Won’t he be, to put it mildly, extremely displeased with you? And if he can’t take out his displeasure on the Werewolf King…”

Miri laughed, and there was the sharp edge to her smile that showed the dangerous warrior that hid behind the sparkling façade. “Oh, Father is undoubtedly furious with us beyond measure. But…Kyri, you have no idea what a defeat he has just been given! The Black City forced back against his will? The
Great Seal
shattered by a handful of
children
in his throne room?”

She grinned again. “We still have a few…lines of communication we can use, and the cost of this setback was tremendous; half the city is severely damaged, and several of Father’s most important generals are either dead from the action, or have disappeared, perhaps fleeing from expected punishment or merely deciding that this complete fiasco indicates that even Kerlamion is not eternal. Voorith and Yergoth of the
Mazolishta
were killed in their manifest forms and will take a long time to recover, Balgotha hasn’t been heard from at
all
since the battle and some suspect he suffered the final death, Kurildis simply went silent, and even Balinshar’s disappeared.”

She shook her head. “No, while he is undoubtedly furious with us, Kerlamion will not be able to spare energy or time to move against us for a long time. I wouldn’t be surprised if some of the others actually try a coup, Erherveria especially, as for once the urgings of his true nature and the Curse of Blackness will be completely in accord on the need to throw down the ruler of All Hells and take his place.”

“Well, that’s great news!” Poplock said.

“Good news indeed,” Lythos said, entering. “There is evil enough in the world without the Lord of All Hells intervening.”

“But, Miri—what about the Five? The children you mentioned, our friends? What happened to them?” Tobimar was tense, which wasn’t surprising. Kyri was worried about that too, but Tobimar and Poplock had always been closer to Xavier than she was.

Miri looked down. “No one saw or heard anything else from them. They…they might have—”

“No, they’re okay,” Poplock said with certainty.

“You’re sounding confident on that. Why?”

“Well, two reasons. First, Khoros was pretty darn self-satisfied about that part of his plan. I could tell. And even if he
is
willing to take whatever means he can to get to his end, I don’t think he’d have been happy about sacrificing them all. Second, when they told us their stories, one thing they mentioned was that Khoros said they couldn’t go
home
until the Seal was broken. Something about the way they were brought here.

“So I’m thinking that as soon as the seal broke, they ended up going home.”

Tobimar looked as relieved as Kyri felt. “Makes sense. And now that you mention it, didn’t Xavier say that Khoros promised him he’d be able to complete his hunt for the person that killed his brother?”

“Yep. So obviously he’d have to have survived that mess to be able to go home and do the job. With the seal gone, maybe they’ll even be able to come back and visit sometime.”

Lythos nodded. “It is possible. Their world will be changing, and perhaps, with luck, we will have the opportunity to help them.”

There was something more pressing in Kyri’s mind, though. “Miri? You…haven’t said anything about Aegeia. Do you know anything?”

Tobimar gripped her hand; he knew that her little sister Urelle had decided to emulate her big sister and go off to be a hero, following their former bodyguard Ingram Camp-Bel to his homeland of Aegeia, and Aunt Victoria had set off immediately in pursuit.

Miri frowned. “Not as much, unfortunately. Aegeia was Viedra…I mean, Virigar’s own project too. Or rather the person who was overseeing it was under his direction, not Kerlamion’s. But,” she said, seeing Kyri’s expression, “but we do know that things didn’t go the way they wanted. No one has details, but despite what was described as a Godswar, it seems that the Lady of Wisdom remains incarnate.”

“I have to get there soon,” Kyri said after a moment. “And even though we know the demon siege was broken, I know you need to get home to Skysand, Tobimar.”

Tobimar brightened. “Yes. With good news. The
best
news.” His smile faded a touch. “That will be a
long
trip, though, and…well, Kyri, I had hoped you could come with me. I know Poplock will, but—”

“Of
course
she will come with you,” the Watchland said firmly. “Now that you have dealt with the rot at the heart of our land, Kyri, Tobimar, Poplock, the safety and strength of Evanwyl is
my
responsibility, not yours. I can neither command Myrionar, nor Myrionar’s Justiciars, and certainly not someone who embodies both.”

Kyri felt a rising hope, a lightness and joy that was completely unexpected, and wondered.
What…?

And suddenly she realized that, inside, she had been sure that Evanwyl would be, would
remain
her responsibility, or worse that as a god she would be forced to leave the world, to ascend…elsewhere, wherever the gods went, and that Tobimar’s fears had more foundation than even Poplock wanted to admit.

But the Watchland was telling her
that is not true
.

“I…can,” she said slowly. “I can leave Evanwyl…and come back any time I choose.”

Jeridan raised an eyebrow, and then laughed. “You truly thought you
couldn’t
, didn’t you? That being who you were
bound
you?”

“Oh, Kyri—you’re an
incarnate god
,” Miri said, shaking her head. “You’re the least bound of any of us—unless you bind
yourself
. The oaths of the gods have no hold on you, and even less the requirements of mortality.”

And that probably scares me more than anything else. I have power I don’t understand, and absolutely nothing and no one except myself accountable for it.

But then she looked at Tobimar, and realized that she’d had the same fears all along.
And as long as I worry about that, I’m probably going to be all right.

“The world’s still going to be at war for a while,” she said, and reached out and took Tobimar’s hand. “All the more reason that these three adventurers not stay in one place.”

Tobimar surprised her with a sudden embrace and a kiss. “Then—”

“—Then we should get ready to go,” Kyri said, a completely…
normal
excitement and nervousness that felt so very
right
starting to flood through her. “After all…you need to introduce me to your family, don’t you?”

The room filled with laughter, and Kyri suddenly knew that she’d been wrong.

She wasn’t someone else. She was Myrionar, but that didn’t mean she was not Kyri Victoria Vantage, because Myrionar was also her. She wasn’t less herself.

She was just
more.

Chapter 51

Tobimar felt his heart hammering in his chest as he paced the deck.
This is ridiculous. I’ve faced dark dragons and monsters and the Slayer of Gods himself. And I’m shaking like a tent in a sandstorm at the thought of coming home.

But no Skysand in exile had
ever
come home. The exile was for twenty-four years…but twenty-four years of delving into dark secrets had apparently ensured that none would return.

I’m coming home in
triumph!
Why am I…

“You’re gonna wear a hole in the deck, and then that old Sauran’s gonna kick you off the boat,” Poplock said from the railing nearby.

That did get a faint smile. “If thousands of years sailing haven’t put holes in this deck, I don’t think I’m going to manage it.” He looked up, seeing T’Oltha standing high on the bridge deck above.
As my journey started, so it ends. Sailing on the
Lucramalalla
.

Of course, it had taken a lot less time. Kyri had helped…cheat. Teleportation and gateways were still uncertain things, but being a god, even a new god, gave her leeway. She couldn’t cross the Khalals—apparently the disruptions there were intense indeed—but in great flashing jumps, one every few days, they had bounded across the face of Zarathan, from Evanwyl to the Odinsforge, bypassing the patrols of Dalthunia, from the Odinsforge to T’Tera, from there to Zarathanton, and finally to Shipton, where they had found the
Lucramalalla
completing its loading on the docks.

It would have been far swifter to have taken a ship from Tor Port in the Empire of the Mountain, but none of them had ever been there, or anywhere near it, so Kyri had no image, no real vision of that place, to use as a guide. He suspected that if she exerted her powers she could probably have found a vision of it that could guide her, but Kyri clearly didn’t want to abuse her powers overly much, and was still learning their extent.

He could understand that, and approved of it, really. He didn’t know anything about his
own
limits, now. The power of Terian had been awakened in him and was not disappearing. He had probably used up the extra…boost that the Sun’s energy had given him, but the star-blue power still waited within him.

Really, it should have been a
good
thing that it took time. It
was
a good thing. He and Kyri had finally been able to spend time with each other, talking deep into the night for weeks, standing at the rail just watching the sea together, occasionally being called to assist the crew when something threatened the ship—for the seaways had become more dangerous with the unleashing of the powers in the great war.

And he’d stood by her side and just held her as they sailed past Aegeia, which had not yet opened itself to the world. Whatever had happened to Urelle and Victoria, Kyri would not know for some time yet.

But at the same time…sailing left him with too much time to think. When you were travelling cross-country, you had plenty of things to keep you busy. And knowing what had happened at home…knowing that Terimur and Sundrilin would not be there to see him, to welcome him home, that many of the people he knew had fallen defending Skysand while he was away…

“I think I see something, Tobimar,” said Kyri quietly.

His head snapped up instantly, and he found himself halfway up the rail, staring, looking…

Yes.

A spire was there, just becoming visible over the horizon.
The Great Tower, the One within the Seven Lesser.

The towers are still standing
.

Somehow just seeing that, knowing that at the least the towers stood, released some of the tension. He could
see
Skysand now, see that no matter what the ravages of war, it was still there, still standing defiantly against the strength of the desert. The Smoking Lighthouse also rose up to one side, the mostly quiescent volcano at the head of the port sending a thin trail of steam and vapor high into the air.

“Is that it?”

“That’s it. That’s Skysand, Kyri. My home.”

“Then let’s not wait any longer.”

He looked at her in surprise, and she smiled. “Oh, Tobimar, I can see you’re so tense you’re going to snap like a frayed bowstring if we wait. And now that I can see where I’m going, it’s not a problem.”

“Well…” He suddenly laughed. “All right, Kyri, you know me. Let’s go get our things together.”

It didn’t take more than a half-hour to pack everything; after everything they’d gone through, they were in the habit of leaving as much packed as possible, just in case. Poplock, of course, was waiting for them impatiently. “Can’t wait to see what kind of a table your family sets,” the little Toad said.

“So that’s your ambition, to eat your way across Zarathan.”

“I can think of worse! But I’ve never been here, so I’ll bet there’s all sorts of new delicacies. And probably new bugs to eat, too. Never tried a scorpion, but one of my second cousins once said—”

“Enough about your stomach!” Kyri gave Poplock an affectionate rap on the head. “I know you’re almost as nervous as we are. This is a huge event for your people, isn’t it?”

Tobimar nodded. “The biggest, really.”

“Then stand straight and
be proud
, because you know they will be.”

Tobimar concentrated, and with not a little effort brought up the meditations of
Tor
. His heart slowed, he saw more clearly, more surely, and realized that in truth he was more worried about things more personal than just his homecoming.

Which was ridiculous; was there even the
faintest
possibility that his mother, the Lord of Waters, would disapprove of Kyri? Of course not. Yet the nervousness remained, and he suddenly grinned at himself.
And the adventurer is reminded that he is still human.

He turned to look up. “Captain, we are departing a bit ahead of schedule.”

T’Oltha nodded. “The fact that you return tells me that I will have good fortune. I will expect a celebration by the time we make port, yes?”

“I…would not be surprised. And you are invited, personally. I began this journey with you, and it was you who sent me to the First City, when I would have chosen elsewhere.”

The huge Sauran gave a complete Armed Bow. “Then I accept, with honor. Go, then.”

He grasped Kyri’s hand. “Can you tell exactly
where
you’re going?”

“I can see…the seven towers around the one you described. I could put us anywhere there, or in the city around…” Kyri’s eyes shimmered with blue-gold fire.

Silver, blue, and gold…the colors of Myrionar. I wonder
why
those colors.
“Put us in front of the Great Tower, then. The Lord of Waters will be holding court there now.”

She nodded and closed her eyes.

Golden fire bloomed around them, a fire that invigorated and warmed and did not burn, and then blazed like the sun. When the light faded, Tobimar saw the great double doors, set in a frame that curled upward like a flame or the shape of the tower’s peak itself, the doors of pure black set with silver runes and the single golden sigil of Terian, the doors of the palace flung wide for petitioners and friends.

The doors of home.

All around them were startled people, staring; and then a voice called from the steps, “Tobimar?
TOBIMAR?
”

Murmurs sprang up as Vancilar, his oldest brother, sprinted down the steps. “Tobimar? It
is
you! But how…why? You know you cannot—”

“Vancilar, I know. I know the traditions as well as any of us.” He looked into his brother’s dark-brown eyes, waited until he had his full attention. “The youngest of the Skysand knows full well what is demanded of him, and says to his oldest and wisest of brothers that he must be brought immediately to speak with the Lord of Waters.”

As he had expected, the formality cut off the questions. This was not something to be discussed on the threshold, but only in the presence of the ruler of Skysand. Vancilar nodded. “Then I bid you follow, Tobimar, and if your companion would as well, for the Lord of Waters holds court today.”

As they mounted the steps and entered the Great Tower, Tobimar saw the others waiting glance back, see Vancilar and Tobimar and Kyri, and step aside. The whispers and mutters increased, and there was a fearful edge in some of those glances, a hopeful tinge to others’ voices, for they knew that Tobimar’s return could mean only one of two things.

The doors to the Throneroom of Fountains were also flung wide, and from within Tobimar could hear a voice so familiar that it brought tears to his eyes, his mother’s voice, calm and reasoning, dissecting some problem brought before her and showing her people the way to its solution.

She glanced up—her hair now pure white, not a trace of the few black strands that had been there five, six years ago when he had departed—and froze, staring at him in shock, fear and hope momentarily clear on her face before she regained control.

She straightened in her throne, and gestured for the way to be cleared.

Now they walked across the black and gold polished granite of the Throneroom, and their steps echoed in the startled silence. He stopped precisely eight steps from the throne and then knelt. “The youngest and least of her sons greets the wise and ageless Lord of Waters, and begs that she will hear him at this time,” he said. Beside him, he felt Kyri duplicate his gesture, saying nothing. Poplock, of course, merely balanced and watched.

There was a pause, then his mother spoke. “May the Spring of the Court flow ever for you, my son. The Lord of Waters must indeed hear you, and grave indeed is the occasion, for you have returned to this land far before the term of your Seeker’s Exile. Rise and speak.”

He rose, heart once more hammering, but now with anticipation.
I daydreamed about this. I think all of us did as children. Mother did, I know. And now…

“O Lord of Waters, what you say is even so. But I say to you that this is because my term is ended.”

Her eyes widened, blue eyes so like his own shimmering with disbelieving hope. “Then—”

With a great laugh, he abandoned formality, leapt up the stairs, caught his mother’s hands. “I have found that which was lost, Mother! I know from whence we came! I have faced our enemies and touched the Sun, and the power of Terian itself has touched me!”

He raised his hand, turning to face the crowd, and let a blaze of blue-white godsfire ignite like a torch of stars. “The curse is lifted, the ban is broken!”

“The ban is broken, and Mother…Mother, I have come home!”